Extended manufacturing environment

ABSTRACT

An extended manufacturing environment can receive, at a manufacturer&#39;s server, a communication from a customer of the manufacturer, automatically process the communication, and automatically transmit an order for supplies to a supplier of the supplies. The supplies, which are needed by the manufacturer to manufacture at least one product for the customer, can be directly ordered by the customer, without the customer having to wait for the manufacturer&#39;s approval.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention generally relates to methods and systems of manufacturing.More particularly, the invention relates to methods and systems forproviding an extended manufacturing environment.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

A portal server can be used to deliver some information associated witha process. The information can be delivered to a user via a browserclient over the Internet or via a corporate intranet. For example, acustomer can use a portal to place an order and also to see if anyexisting order is yet completed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the invention, a plurality of remote clients can beconnected over a network to a geographically distant plant of amanufacturer. Users of the remote clients may be, for example, customersof the manufacturer. For example, a customer of a contract manufacturer,in operating the remote client, can be provided intimate access to, anddetailed information about, the contract manufacturer's internalmanufacturing equipment and process. According to one advantage of theinvention, the user need not be present physically at the manufacturer'splant in order to view and manipulate the critical and detailedmanufacturing information. The information can include order statusinformation, but also much more detailed information about themanufacturer's internal equipment and/or process, thus allowing a remoteuser to view details previously only known and accessible to themanufacturer itself.

The user may, based on the manufacturing information received over thenetwork, act upon the information in real-time. For example, without theneed for a telephone call or an e-mail to the manufacturer, a customermay submit automatically an engineering change order to a product beingmanufactured, and then subsequently electronically order, without havingto wait for the manufacturer's approval, the supplies needed to fulfillthe engineering change order. Consequently, according to anotheradvantage of the invention, the speed with which manufacturing decisionsare made is increased, and revenue and cost control opportunities aremore readily realized. Needless tension between, for example, customersand contract manufacturers is thereby eliminated.

In one aspect, the invention generally involves a method for providingan extended manufacturing environment. The method includes receiving, ata manufacturer's server, a communication from a customer of themanufacturer. The manufacturer's server automatically processes thecommunication and automatically transmits an order for supplies to asupplier of the supplies. The supplies are needed by the manufacturer tomanufacture at least one product for the customer.

In another aspect, the invention generally relates to an article ofmanufacture having computer-readable program means embodied therein forproviding an extended manufacturing environment. The article includescomputer readable program means for receiving, at a manufacturer'sserver, a communication from a customer of the manufacturer,automatically processing the communication, and automaticallytransmitting an order for supplies to a supplier of the supplies, wherethe supplies are needed by the manufacturer to manufacture at least oneproduct for the customer.

One or both of these aspects of the invention can include variousfeatures. For example, the communication can include an order for the atleast one product, a request to change an existing order for the atleast one product, or a request for supplies. A simulation can be run todetermine whether the order can be filled by the manufacturer, or animpact of making the change request such as a loss of ship date, asurcharge for re-assembling the at least one product, and/or anunexpected increase in price due to a change in sub-components of the atleast one product. Also, the manufacturer's server can handle a requestfrom the customer for detailed product quality information.

In yet another aspect, the invention generally features a system forproviding an extended manufacturing environment. The system includes amanufacturing interface module configured to receive a communicationfrom a customer of a manufacturer, automatically process thecommunication, and automatically pass control to an ordering module. Theordering module is configured to automatically transmit an order forsupplies to a supplier of the supplies. The supplies are needed by themanufacturer to manufacture at least one product for the customer.

This aspect of the invention can include various features. For example,the communication can include an order for the at least one product, arequest to change an existing order for the at least one product, or arequest for supplies. A simulation module can run a simulation todetermine whether the order can be filled by the manufacturer, or animpact of making the change request such as a loss of ship date, asurcharge for re-assembling the at least one product, and/or anunexpected increase in price due to a change in sub-components of the atleast one product. Also, the manufacturing interface module can befurther configured to receive from the customer a request for detailedproduct quality information.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other objects, aspects, features, and advantages ofthe invention will become more apparent and may be better understood byreferring to the following description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an illustrative embodiment of a system forproviding an extended manufacturing environment in accordance with theinvention;

FIGS. 2A and 2B are flow diagrams of an illustrative embodiment of amethod for providing an extended manufacturing environment in accordancewith the invention; and

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an illustrative commercial embodiment of aserver, a database, and a manufacturing floor in a system for providingan extended manufacturing environment in accordance with the invention.

DESCRIPTION

Certain embodiments of the present invention are described below. It is,however, expressly noted that the present invention is not limited tothese embodiments, but rather the intention is that additions andmodifications to what is expressly described herein also are includedwithin the scope of the invention. Moreover, it is to be understood thatthe features of the various embodiments described herein are notmutually exclusive and can exist in various combinations andpermutations, even if such combination or permutations are not madeexpress herein, without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention.

In general, the invention pertains to methods and systems for providingan extended manufacturing environment. In broad overview, FIG. 1 depictsa system 100 for providing an extended manufacturing environmentaccording to an illustrative embodiment of the invention. The system 100includes a plurality of first computing devices, e.g., remote clients105 a-105 n, in communication with a second computing device, e.g.,server 110, over a network 115. Also included in the system 100 is athird computing device, e.g., database 120, which is in communicationwith the server 110, and a manufacturing floor 125 that is incommunication with the server 110 and the database 120. A manufacturer,such as, for example, a contract manufacturer, operates themanufacturing floor 125. Optionally, fourth computing devices, e.g.,local clients 130 a-130 n, are in direct communication with the server110.

In general, users of the remote clients 105 can be customers of themanufacturer operating the manufacturing floor 125, suppliers for themanufacturer, employees of the manufacturer, distributors for thecustomers of the manufacturer, or future producers for the customers ofthe manufacturer. For example, the manufacturer can be a low volumeproducer engaged by the customer to produce a prototype, or a smallquantity of one or more products, and the future producer for thecustomer can be a high volume producer who will eventually take thecompleted prototype, or the small quantity of one or more products, andproduce it, or them, in large volumes. Employees of the manufacturer mayadditionally, or alternatively, use one or more of the local clients 130a-130 n, to directly communicate with the server 110.

In one embodiment, the network 115 is, for example, a local-area network(LAN), such as a company Intranet, or a wide area network (WAN), such asthe Internet or the World Wide Web. Users of the remote clients 105 canbe connected to the network 115 through a variety of connectionsincluding, but not limited to, standard telephone lines, LAN or WANlinks (e.g., T1, T3, 56 kb, X.25), broadband connections (e.g., ISDN,Frame Relay, ATM), or wireless connections. The connections can beestablished using a variety of communication protocols (e.g., HTTP,TCP/IP, IPX, SPX, NetBios, Ethernet, RS232, and direct asynchronousconnections).

Each of the remote clients 105 and the local clients 130 can be anypersonal computer, Windows-based terminal, Network Computer, wirelessdevice, information appliance, RISC Power PC, X-device, workstation,mini computer, main frame computer, personal digital assistant, set topbox, handheld device, or other computing device that is capable of bothpresenting information/data to, and receiving commands from, a user ofthe remote client 105 or the local client 130, as the case may be. Forexample, each of the remote clients 105 and the local clients 130 mayinclude a visual display device (e.g., a computer monitor), a data entrydevice (e.g., a keyboard), persistent and/or volatile storage (e.g.,computer memory), a processor, and a mouse. In one embodiment, as shown,each of the remote clients 105 includes a web browser 135, such as, forexample, the Internet Explorer™ program developed by MicrosoftCorporation of Redmond, Wash., to connect to the World Wide Web.

The server 110 can be any computing device capable of deliveringinformation/data to, and receiving commands from, the remote clients105, over the network 115, and the local clients 130. In one embodiment,the server 110 includes a communications interface module 140, amanufacturing interface module 145, a simulation module 150, and anordering module 155. The modules 140, 145, 150, and 155 may beimplemented as a software program and/or as a hardware device, such as,for example, an ASIC or an FPGA.

In the illustrative embodiment shown, the database 120 is a separateserver from the server 110. Alternatively, the database 120 is part ofthe server 110. The database 120 includes storage, or storage isconnected to the database 120, for storing and managing data. In anotherembodiment, the aforementioned modules 140, 145, 150, and 155 aredistributed over several servers in communication with each other overthe network 115, or over another network (not shown). Two or more of themodules 140, 145, 150, and 155 may be combined into a single module,such that the functions, as described below, performed by two or more ofthe modules 140, 145, 150, and 155 are performed by the single module.Alternatively, any one of the modules 140, 145, 150, or 155 may beimplemented as multiple modules, such that the functions, as describedbelow, performed by any one of the modules 140, 145, 150, and 155 areperformed by the multiple modules.

The manufacturing floor 125 can interface with the communicationsinterface module 140, the manufacturing interface module 145, and thedatabase 120. Information/data concerning the manufacturing processesoccurring on the manufacturing floor 125 and/or information relating tothe supply of supplies is uploaded to the database 120. For example,order status information, product quality information, and/orinformation of particular interest to suppliers is uploaded to thedatabase 120. Such exemplary information can be uploaded to the database120 by a human operator. Alternatively, the information is automaticallyuploaded to the database 120 by, for example, an electronic scanner. Forinstance, as the product being manufactured passes from one workstationto the next, the scanner is used to scan a barcode on the product,thereby recording, in real-time, the exact location of the product inthe manufacturing process. A variety of other means can be used toupload information/data concerning the manufacturing processes to thedatabase 120.

In the depicted embodiment of FIG. 1, the communications interfacemodule 140 interfaces with the network 115, the local clients 130, themanufacturing interface module 145, the simulation module 150, theordering module 155, and the manufacturing floor 125. In one embodiment,the communications interface module 140 receives requests or commandsfrom the remote clients 105 and/or the local clients 130 and transfersthose requests or commands to the manufacturing interface module 145 orto the simulation module 150, as appropriate. The communicationsinterface module 140 may also return resulting information/data from themanufacturing interface module 145, the simulation module 150, theordering module 155, or the manufacturing floor 125 to the remoteclients 105 and/or to the local clients 130.

The communications interface module 140 can provide a web portal tousers of the remote clients 105. Moreover, the communications interfacemodule 140 can provide a different web page for each user of a remoteclient 105. For example, each customer can be provided with a customizedweb page by the communications interface module 140. Similarly, eachsupplier, employee, distributor for a customer, and/or future producerfor a customer can also be provided with a customized web page by thecommunications interface module 140. Additionally, where appropriate,sub-groups of the same user of a remote client 105 can be provided witha different web page by the communications interface module 140. Forinstance, the engineering group and the sales group of the same customercan be provided with different customized views. The users, orsub-groups of the same user, may customize their own web page, or,alternatively, the web-page may be customized for them by, for example,the manufacturer operating the server 110.

The communications interface module 140 can also provide any number ofchannels 160 a-160 n between the communications interface module 140 andthe manufacturing interface module 145. Each channel 160 allows for adifferent channelized view of the database 120 and the manufacturingprocesses occurring on the manufacturing floor 125. For instance, in oneembodiment, the manufacturer desires to provide certain customers withaccess to both order status information and product quality information,but provide other customers with access to only order statusinformation. Each customer is, therefore, provided a specificchannelized view of the database 120, via a specific channel 160, basedon the access the customer is granted by the manufacturer. Thechannelized view restricts the customer's view to certain informationstored in the database 120. As another example, the manufacturer maydesire to provide certain customers with access to manufacturing processinformation relating to workstation A, workstation B, and workstation C,but provide other customers with access to only manufacturing processinformation relating to workstation A. The channels 160 may be used torestrict a customer's view of the manufacturing processes in such afashion. Similarly, each supplier, employee, distributor, futureproducer, and/or user sub-group may additionally, or alternatively, beprovided with a different channelized view of the database 120 and themanufacturing processes occurring on the manufacturing floor 125.Moreover, any number of other channels can be provided by thecommunications interface module 140 between the communications interfacemodule 140 and another module, such as, for example, the simulationmodule 150.

Additionally, the communications interface module 140 can control whichusers are able to interact with one another through, for example,discussion threads, alerts, or video conferencing, as described below.In one embodiment, the communications interface module 140 controlscompany-to-company relationships. For example, customer A is permittedby the communications interface module 140 to interact with customer Band supplier C, but not with customer D or supplier E. Any variety ofrestrictions on interaction between customers, suppliers, employees,distributors, and/or future producers may be implemented by thecommunications interface module 140.

In one embodiment, the communications interface module 140 supportsdiscussion threads and the posting of alerts. For example, users of theremote clients 105 and/or the local clients 130 can post messages to oneor more discussion boards hosted by the communications interface module140. The messages may, for example, pertain to proposed changes to oneor more products being manufactured at the manufacturing floor 125. Auser posting a message can then send an alert to the other users,notifying them to check the discussion board. The alert can beautomatically sent to all users of the remote clients 105 and the localclients 130 or the user posting the message can opt to send the alert toa chosen sub-set of users. The user sending the alert can monitor, forexample, which recipients have acknowledged receipt of the alert. Theusers receiving the alert can read the message posted at the discussionboard and, optionally, post their own message.

The communications interface module 140 can also support video-streamingtechnology and present, for example, products in process, defects, orproblems on the manufacturing floor 125 to users of the remote clients105 and/or the local clients 130. The manufacturing floor 125 can bedirectly connected to the communications interface module 140, via alink 165, to provide such information. For example, an engineer locatedat manufacturing floor 125 may hold an overall top level product to acamera located at manufacturing floor 125. The engineer may show thelatest design, point out any manufacturing or assembly problemsassociated therewith, and suggest possible solutions. The image of theproduct and/or engineer is sent to users of the remote clients 105and/or the local clients 130, via the link 165 and the communicationsinterface module 140, thereby obviating the need for the users to bephysically present at the manufacturing floor 125. As another example,an engineer can hold a low level component, used in manufacturing theoverall top level product, to the camera and provide one or moresuppliers of the component, located at the remote clients 105, with areal-time demonstration of any issues that exist. As such, the one ormore suppliers need not be physically present at the manufacturing floor125 to deal with any arising component issues. The time required for theone or more suppliers to react to the component issues by, for example,shipping a set of corrected components is, therefore, reduced by thepresent invention.

In still another embodiment, the communications interface module 140supports video-conferencing between users of the remote clients 105and/or the local clients 130. Users of the remote clients 105 and/or thelocal clients 130 can, therefore, participate in real-timediscussions/meetings, without having to be present at the samegeographic location.

In yet another embodiment, users of the remote clients 105 can transferfiles to the communications interface module 140 for eventual storage inthe database 120. For example, the users can send Excel files over thenetwork 115 to the communications interface module 140. Exemplary Excelfiles that can be transmitted to the communications interface module 140include, but are not limited to, files containing a Bill of Materials oran Approved Vendor List. Alternatively, the user may transmit othertypes of files to the communications interface module 140. Thecommunications interface module 140 initially stores the transmittedfiles in, for example, a library. The manufacturing interface module145, or, alternatively, another module (not shown), can then be executedto automatically import the transmitted files into the database 120.Because the user may post the files directly to, for example, thelibrary of the communications interface module 140, the user need notseparately mail or e-mail the files to the manufacturer. Moreover, theautomatic importing of the transmitted files into the database 120obviates the need for the manufacturer to manually upload information,contained in the transmitted files, to the database 120.

The manufacturing interface module 145 interfaces with thecommunications interface module 140, the ordering module 155, thedatabase 120, and the manufacturing floor 125. The manufacturinginterface module 145 provides users with a detailed view into theoperations of the manufacturing floor 125. In one embodiment, themanufacturing interface module 145 receives, through communicationsinterface module 140, communications from users of the remote clients105 and/or the local clients 130. The manufacturing interface module 145processes the communications and returns any results, through thecommunications interface module 140, to the remote clients 105 and/or tothe local clients 130. The results can be presented to the user, by thecommunications interface module 140, in, for example, a worksheet formator a graphical format. Alternatively, the results can be presented tothe user in other formats.

For example, a customer may place an order for a product at a remoteclient 105. The order, after having passed through the network 115 andthe communications interface module 140 to the manufacturing interfacemodule 145, is processed by the manufacturing interface module 145 andsent to the manufacturing floor 125 to be filled. As described ingreater detail below, prior to submitting the order for the product, thecustomer can first run a simulation via the simulation module 150 todetermine whether the order can be filled by the manufacturer. Moreover,as also described in greater detail below, following placement of theorder, the manufacturing interface module 145 can automatically passcontrol to the ordering module 155, which can automatically transmit anorder for supplies to a supplier of the supplies without any furtherhuman interaction and without requiring approval from the manufacturer.

As another example, a customer at a remote client 105 requests, withoutdelay, and without consequent missed revenue opportunities and/or missedopportunities to control costs, real-time changes to an existing orderfor a product. The change request is again received by the manufacturinginterface module 145, processed, and sent to the manufacturing floor 125to be filled. Again, as described in greater detail below, prior tomaking the change request, a customer can first run a simulation via thesimulation module 150 to determine the impacts of making such a changerequest. Moreover, as also described in greater detail below, followingthe change request, the manufacturing interface module 145 canautomatically pass control to the ordering module 155, which canautomatically transmit an order for supplies to a supplier of thesupplies without any further human interaction and without requiringapproval from the manufacturer.

Users of remote clients 105 and/or local clients 130 can requestmanufacturing information from the manufacturing interface module 145.The manufacturing interface module 145 responds to such requests inreal-time by returning to the users the results stored, as describedabove, in the database 120. The manufacturing interface module 145obviates the need for, and the burden of, direct contact between usersand the manufacturer by, for example, telephone calls, e-mails, or otherslow means of communication.

In one embodiment, users of remote clients 105 and/or local clients 130request order status information. In addition to providing users withbasic status information, such as whether the order is already fulfilledor in the midst of the process of being fulfilled, the manufacturinginterface module 145 can return to the user much more detailed orderstatus information. For example, the manufacturing interface module 145informs users how many of each ordered product are at workstation A, atworkstation B, at workstation C, etc. As another example, themanufacturing interface module 145 informs users how many of eachordered product are in the process of being made, how many are made, howmany are being tested, how many are currently being held for delivery,and how many have been delivered. In other words, the order statusinformation provided to the user is detailed stock status information.In one embodiment, this detailed stock status information is providedfor the overall top level product. Alternatively, the detailed stockstatus information is provided for sub-components used in manufacturingthe overall top level product. As yet another example, the manufacturinginterface module 145 informs the users of what supplies are needed tocomplete the process at each workstation, which of those supplies are onorder, when they are due in, and/or what shortages may, or will, result.As discussed in greater detail below, customers can initiate the processof ordering the missing supplies from a supplier by, for example,directly requesting that certain supplies be ordered.

The manufacturing interface module 145 also responds to product qualityinformation inquiries from users of the remote clients 105 and/or thelocal clients 130. For instance, a user may require information relatingto manufacturing defects. The user may, for example, desire to know whatpercentage of completed products were defective or were rejected forfaults. The user may, however, require more detailed product qualityinformation, such as, for example, manufacturing defect informationrelating to each particular low level component used in manufacturingthe overall top level product. The user may desire to know, for example,for each low level component, the percentage that were defective and abreakdown of the different reasons for the particular defects. Themanufacturing interface module 145 obtains any such requestedinformation from the database 120 and returns the results to the user.In other embodiments, the manufacturing interface module 145 providesother detailed types of statistical process control information,relating either to the overall top level product or to the low levelcomponents used in assembling the overall top level product.

In yet another embodiment, suppliers at the remote clients 105 can, inparticular, be provided with specific information of interest to them bythe manufacturing interface module 145. For example, the manufacturinginterface module 145 can provide a supplier, in real-time, with thestatus of one or more orders for supplies submitted to the supplier by,as described below, a customer of the manufacturer or an employee of themanufacturer. In one such embodiment, the supplier is presented with alist of newly submitted orders for supplies and given the option toaccept or reject the submitted orders for supplies. The supplier canaccept/reject the submitted orders for supplies in total, or,alternatively, the supplier can accept/reject different portions of thesubmitted orders for supplies. For example, the supplier may decide toaccept to supply certain supplies for a particular product, but notothers. In one embodiment, a user may send a supplier an alert,notifying the supplier of a newly submitted order for supplies.

In another such embodiment, the manufacturing interface module 145returns to the supplier information, stored in the database 120,relating to the consumption of supplies. For example, the percentage ofdelivered supplies consumed in assembling a finished product is providedby the manufacturing interface module 145 to the supplier. In such afashion, the supplier can, as can a customer of the manufacturer, asdescribed above, monitor and track supply status information, includingany shortages or missing supplies that may result. The supplier canalso, among other things, suggest the further purchase of supplies,provide information relating to expected delivery dates, and/or providepricing information relating to the supplies. The supplier can do so, asdiscussed above, via the discussion boards supported by thecommunications interface module 140.

The manufacturing interface module 145 can also provide the supplierwith delivery performance information tracked and stored in the database120. For example, the supplier can be informed as to any orders forsupplies which are late. Moreover, the supplier can be informed forexample, as to what percentage of received supplies were delivered ontime and/or as to which percentage of the supplies were defective. Thisinformation can be, for example, historical information.

In one embodiment, the simulation module 150 interfaces with thecommunications interface module 140 and, through the database 120, themanufacturing floor 125. Using the manufacturing information stored inthe database 120, the simulation module 150 can run real-timesimulations on demand for users of the remote clients 105 and/or thelocal clients 130. For example, prior to placing an order for a productas described above, a customer can input information about an intendedproduct, such as, for example, the desired specifications, quantity,delivery time, and price. The simulation module 150 receives theinputted information, via the communications interface module 140, andsimulates whether the customer-specified product can be manufactured bythe manufacturer. If so, the simulation module 150 notifies the customerof it and prompts the customer to place, or to reject, the order. Inperforming the simulation, the simulation module 150 can perform bothcapacity planning/scheduling and materials planning. Capacityplanning/scheduling can involve determining what resources (e.g., humanresources, plant and equipment, etc.) would be consumed by the order andwhen the manufacturing floor 125 could, or should, actually process theorder. Materials planning can involve determining what parts and/orother such supplies are need to complete the order, which of thosesupplies are on hand, and which would need to be ordered.

In another embodiment, the simulation module 150 is used to runreal-time simulations of the impacts of implementing a change request.As an illustrative example, a customer may have initially placed anorder for 1000 items of product A and 1000 items of product B. Overtime, the customer's demand may change to 1500 items of product A and500 items of product B. Prior to implementing the change request, thecustomer can request the critical impacts of modifying the order, suchas, for example, a loss of ship date, a surcharge for re-assembling theproduct, and/or an unexpected increase in price due to a change insub-components of the product. The simulation module 150 simulates theimpacts of changing the existing order, determines the parametersrequested by the customer, and returns the requested parameters to thecustomer for consideration. The customer may then accept or reject thechange request.

The ordering module 155 interfaces with the communications interfacemodule 140 and the manufacturing interface module 145. The orderingmodule 155 can be used by customers or employees at the remote clients105, and/or by employees at the local clients 130, to electronicallyorder supplies from suppliers who, in fact, support the electronicordering of supplies (e.g., suppliers who support the electronic datainterchange (EDI) standard). In one embodiment, a customer at a remoteclient 105 initiates the electronic ordering of supplies. For example,as discussed above, the customer sends, over the network 115 to theserver 110, an order for a product or a request to change an existingorder. Such a communication is received by the manufacturing interfacemodule 145 and is processed by the manufacturing interface module 145.In one embodiment, the manufacturing interface module 145, without anyfurther human interaction and without requiring approval from themanufacturer itself, then passes control to the ordering module 155. Theordering module 155 then automatically transmits an order for supplies,through the communications interface module 140 and the network 115 to asupplier of the supplies, for example a supplier located at a remoteclient 105. The supplier receives the order, interacts with the orderover the network 115, as described above, fills the portion of the orderit has accepted to supply, and ships that portion of the requestedsupplies to the manufacturer operating the manufacturing floor 125.

As another example, a customer may directly submit a request forsupplies, without placing a new product order or requesting a change toan existing order, through the network 115 and the communicationsinterface module 140, to the manufacturing module 145. The customer maydo so, for example, where the customer has, as described above,requested detailed order status information and learned that suppliesare missing or that shortages may soon result. As before, themanufacturing interface module 145 receives the communication (in thiscase, the request for supplies) and, without any further humaninteraction and without requiring approval from the manufacturer itself,automatically processes the communication. The manufacturing interfacemodule 145 then passes control to the ordering module 155, which, asdescribed above, automatically transmits an order for supplies to asupplier of the supplies. The supplier receives the order, interactswith the order over the network 115, as described above, fills theportion of the order it has accepted to supply, and ships that portionof the requested supplies to the manufacturer operating themanufacturing floor 125.

In another embodiment, where the customer wishes to use a specificsupplier who does not support the electronic ordering of supplies, thecustomer may nevertheless initiate an order of supplies from thatsupplier. For example, the customer submits a request for supplies,through the network 115 and the communications interface module 140, tothe manufacturing interface module 145. The manufacturing interfacemodule 145 receives the request for supplies, processes it, and thenprints a hard-copy of the purchase order. The hard-copy of the purchaseorder is mailed by the manufacturer to the supplier in question. Thesupplier receives the order, fills the portion of the order it acceptsto supply, and ships that portion of the requested supplies to themanufacturer operating the manufacturing floor 125. Again, a supplier ata remote client 105 can also interact with the order, as describedabove, over the network 115.

Optionally, prior to the ordering module 155 transmitting the order forsupplies, or prior to the manufacturing interface module 145 printingthe hard-copy of the purchase order, the manufacturing interface module145, or, alternatively, another separate module (now shown), determinesan appropriate supplier. For example, the manufacturing interface module145 considers the costs and shipping times of the various availablesuppliers and/or any other customer inputted information. Detailsrelating to the appropriately determined supplier may then be returnedto the customer who may, or may not, use any such information insubmitting a direct request for supplies.

Referring now to FIGS. 2A-2B, one embodiment of a method 200 forproviding an extended manufacturing environment, using the exemplaryembodiment of FIG. 1, is illustrated. At step 204, a user of a remoteclient 105 or of a local client 130 connects to the server 110. Thecommunications interface module 140 is invoked at step 208. When thecommunications interface module 140 is invoked, the user may, forexample, post messages to one or more discussion boards, send alerts,view a live video stream of the manufacturing floor 125, or engage in alive video conference with other users of the remote clients 105 and/orthe local clients 130, as described above.

At step 212, the user decides whether to interact with the manufacturingfloor 125 by, for example, requesting information/data from, and/orsupplying commands to, the manufacturing interface module 145 and/or thesimulation module 150. If the user decides not to interact with themanufacturing floor 125, the user's connection to the server 110 isterminated at step 244. If, on the other hand, the user does decide tointeract with the manufacturing floor 125, the communications interfacemodule 140, at step 216, selects the appropriate channel 160 to providethe user with a specific channelized view of the manufacturing floor125. The manufacturing interface module 145 and the simulation module150 are then invoked, at step 220, by the server 110 and executed toperform any of their aforementioned tasks. For example, as describedabove, the manufacturing interface module 145 may be used to place anorder for a product with the manufacturing floor 125, to change anexisting order for a product, to request detailed order statusinformation, to request detailed product quality information, and/or, inthe case of suppliers, to provide the suppliers with specificinformation of interest to them and to receive instructions/commandsfrom them relating to the acceptance/rejection of submitted orders forsupplies. The simulation module 150 may be used to simulate theplacement of an order for a product and/or to simulate the impacts ofchanging an existing order for a product.

The user may remain in step 220 as long as the user desires and mayperform one or any number of the aforementioned tasks as many times asthe user desires. For example, a customer can request detailed orderstatus information and detailed product quality information for anexisting order, run a first simulation for a first proposed changerequest, reject the first proposed change request, run a secondsimulation for a second proposed change request, change the existingorder based on the second simulation result, run a third simulation fora first proposed order for a new product, reject the first proposed newproduct order, run a fourth simulation for a second proposed new productorder, and place an order for a new product based on the fourthsimulation result. As will be recognized by one skilled in the art, anycombination of the above described tasks may be performed by thecustomer.

Following interaction with the manufacturing floor 125, it is decided,at step 224, whether to order supplies. For example, where the user hasplaced an order for a product or requested a change to an existingorder, the manufacturing interface module 145 may be configured toautomatically pass control to the ordering module 155, which, asdescribed above, is configured to automatically transmit and order forsupplies to a supplier of the supplies. Alternatively, the user may makea direct request for supplies, as described above. Where themanufacturing interface module 145 is not so configured, or the usermakes no such direct request for supplies, the user, at step 228, eitherdecides to terminate, at step 244, connection to the server 110 or toagain post messages to one or more discussion boards, send alerts, viewa live video stream of the manufacturing floor 125, or engage in a livevideo conference, via the communications interface module 140, at step208. If, on the other hand, the manufacturing interface module 145 isconfigured to automatically pass control to the ordering module 155following an order for a new product or a request to change an existingorder from the customer, or, alternatively, if the user makes a directrequest for supplies, the ordering module 155 is invoked at step 232. Asdescribed above, the ordering module 155 places an electronic order forsupplies with a supplier of the supplies, for example a supplier at aremote client 105. In an alternative embodiment, as discussed above,where the supplier does not support the electronic ordering of supplies,the manufacturing interface module 145 may print a hard-copy of theuser-initiated order for supplies and the hard-copy of the order may bemailed to the appropriate supplier.

Following placement of the order for supplies, the user again decides,at step 236, whether to terminate connection to the server 110. If theuser does not desire to terminate connection to the server 110, the userdecides, at step 240, to either interact with the manufacturing floor125, in which case the manufacturing interface module 145 and thesimulation module 150 are again invoked at step 220, or to again postmessages to one or more discussion boards, send alerts, view a livevideo stream of the manufacturing floor 125, or engage in a live videoconference, via the communications interface module 140 at step 208. Ifthe user desires to terminate the connection to server 110, it is doneat step 244.

FIG. 3 depicts one commercial embodiment of the server 110, the database120, and the manufacturing floor 125. As illustrated, the communicationsinterface module 140 may be implemented using MAPICS PortalApplications, the manufacturing interface module 145 may be implementedusing MAPICS 8.0 Extended Enterprise Software, the simulation module 150may be implemented using Supply Chain Management (SCM) software, and theordering module 155 may be implemented using Connects software, all ofwhich are developed by MAPICS, Inc. of Alpharetta, Ga. The database 120may be implemented using the Oracle 8.0 Database developed by OracleCorporation of Redwood City, Calif.

The present invention may be provided as one or more computer-readableprograms embodied on or in one or more articles of manufacture. Thearticle of manufacture may be a floppy disk, a hard disk, a CD ROM, aflash memory card, a PROM, a RAM, a ROM, or a magnetic tape. In general,the computer-readable programs may be implemented in any programminglanguage. Some examples of languages that can be used include C, C++, orJAVA. The software programs may be stored on or in one or more articlesof manufacture as object code.

Variations, modifications, and other implementations of what isdescribed herein will occur to those of ordinary skill in the artwithout departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention. Theinvention is not to be defined only by the preceding illustrativedescription.

1. A method for providing an extended manufacturing environment,comprising: receiving, at a manufacturer's server, a communication froma customer of the manufacturer; automatically processing thecommunication at the manufacturer's server; and automaticallytransmitting an order for supplies from the manufacturer's server to asupplier of the supplies, the supplies needed by the manufacturer tomanufacture at least one product for the customer.
 2. The method ofclaim 1 wherein the receiving step comprises receiving the communicationwhich comprises an order for the at least one product.
 3. The method ofclaim 2 further comprising running a simulation to determine whether theorder for the at least one product can be filled by the manufacturer. 4.The method of claim 1 wherein the receiving step comprises receiving thecommunication which comprises a request to change an existing order forthe at least one product.
 5. The method of claim 4 further comprisingrunning a simulation to determine at least one impact of making thechange request.
 6. The method of claim 5 wherein the running stepcomprises running the simulation to determine at least one of a loss ofship date, a surcharge for re-assembling the at least one product, andan unexpected increase in price due to a change in sub-components of theat least one product.
 7. The method of claim 1 wherein the receivingstep comprises receiving the communication which comprises a request forsupplies.
 8. The method of claim 1 further comprising receiving, at themanufacturer's server, a request for detailed product qualityinformation from the customer.
 9. A system for providing an extendedmanufacturing environment, comprising: a manufacturing interface moduleconfigured to receive a communication from a customer of a manufacturer,automatically process the communication, and automatically pass controlto an ordering module; and the ordering module configured toautomatically transmit an order for supplies to a supplier of thesupplies, the supplies needed by the manufacturer to manufacture atleast one product for the customer.
 10. The system of claim 9 whereinthe communication comprises an order for the at least one product. 11.The system of claim 10 further comprising a simulation module configuredto run a simulation to determine whether the order for the at least oneproduct can be filled by the manufacturer.
 12. The system of claim 9wherein the communication comprises a request to change an existingorder for the at least one product.
 13. The system of claim 12 furthercomprising a simulation module configured to run a simulation todetermine at least one impact of making the change request.
 14. Thesystem of claim 13 wherein the simulation module is capable of runningthe simulation to determine at least one of a loss of ship date, asurcharge for re-assembling the at least one product, and an unexpectedincrease in price due to a change in sub-components of the at least oneproduct.
 15. The system of claim 9 wherein the communication comprises arequest for supplies.
 16. The system of claim 9 wherein themanufacturing interface module is further configured to receive from thecustomer a request for detailed product quality information.
 17. Anarticle of manufacture having computer-readable program means embodiedtherein for providing an extended manufacturing environment, comprising:computer-readable program means for receiving, at a manufacturer'sserver, a communication from a customer of the manufacturer;computer-readable program means for automatically processing thecommunication at the manufacturer's server; and computer-readableprogram means for automatically transmitting an order for supplies fromthe manufacturer's server to a supplier of the supplies, the suppliesneeded by the manufacturer to manufacture at least one product for thecustomer.